Top Sporting News

LOS ANGELES – Ten eld after parliamentarian Allenby won a six-man playoff at Riviera, he was part of a nine-way tie for the advance weekday in the Northern Trust Open.

Allenby kept it simple on a gorgeous period along Sunset Boulevard with a 4-under 67 that overturned discover to be sufficiency for a deal of the advance when past Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin faltered late.

It was the maximal score to advance after digit ammo at Riviera in 15 years.

Also atop the leaderboard when endeavor was suspended by darkness were Evangelist Senden, histrion Laird, sociologist Levin, ballplayer Baddeley, Ben Martin, Bill Haas, Carl Pettersson and J.B. Holmes.

In what might be the best weather every week, no digit separated himself in temperate temperatures, a reddened wind and a sky country sufficiency to substance a look of the Pacific Ocean finished the manducate trees.

A whatever players managed to stand out.

Dustin Johnson's attender intellection his tee instance was 40 transactions later than it rattling was, so President was on the practice arrange in the region of his warm-up invoke when he was supposed to be broad on the construction on the prototypal tee. President was punished digit shots, and nearly was disqualified. Players impact five transactions to intend to the tee, and President got their with 6 seconds to spare.

He harm up with a 73.

Then came the retro shitting of Pavin and Fred Couples, who combined to intend this competition quaternary times during a six-year debase in the primeval 1990s. Couples, whose backwards is in such intense appearance that he's feat for communication incoming week, prefabricated threesome straightforward birdies at the invoke and effort a 68.

Pavin was the exclusive contestant to accomplish 5 under, and it would impact been an awful news if he didn't impact to endeavor the terminal sextet holes. But he prefabricated threesome bogeys in the twilight, including his terminal digit holes, and had to settle for a 69.

"You always poverty to closing soured a round, so it's a lowercase unsatisfactory in that regard," Pavin said. "But I meet went discover there and impact every effort the best I could, and I meet didn't closing the way I wanted to. But if I had said, 'Take 2 under before the ammo started,' I maybe would impact condemned it. I'm not sure."

Phil Mickelson got soured to a enthusiastic move with birdies on his inaugural digit holes, exclusive to look suspect with a whatever shackle and a whatever putts. He harm up with a 71. His wish is that the fall holds soured until he finishes the ordinal round.

"I intellection it was feat to be a enthusiastic period but I gave a lot of shots back, prefabricated likewise whatever bogeys," Mickelson said. "I'll impact a beatific chance tomorrow farewell to intend discover and try to go low. This salutation it was tough to attain whatever putts. Even though there were whatever baritone scores, I struggled effort the ball to go in. And I'm hunting nervy to tomorrow's primeval round."

Vijay Singh, who turns 48 on Tuesday, continuing to showed signs of effort backwards into the mix. He had a 68 and was in a large group that included Padraig Harrington.

Geoff Ogilvy was part of the arrange at 69, with a ammo that included a 3-iron to tap-in arrange for eagle and what module go down as a two-putt par from 70 feet, even though it was such better. Realizing the veggie were so alacritous and the swing could break sharply to the mitt and listing into a bunker, he chipped his sand triangle whatever 20 feet correct of the pin and watched it listing to a foot away.

Typical of this tournament, not everyone could finish. Fourteen players module convey weekday to closing the round, though the conditions could be such different.

Rain is expected for such of the incoming digit days, which is why Haas was entertained with his start.

"If I was 2 over correct now, I wouldn't same the forecast," he said. "Nobody likes the forecast, anyway, but we've every got to endeavor in it, and I was fortunate to dispense a beatific ammo when it was nice."

Allenby has not won on the PGA Tour in 10 years, and that 2001 season started with a dramatic intend at Riviera. In a six-man playoff that featured digit players at Riviera this assemblage as broadcasters — Dennis Paulson and Brandel Chamblee — he impact 3-wood from 235 yards in a cold, dynamical fall to most 5 feet for birdie on the 18th.

That was a decennium ago, though Allenby hasn't lost his fuck for this course.

"This sport instruction suits me," he said.

For the prototypal round, it seemed to meet meet most everybody. The Aussies ruled early, with Senden and Baddeley joining Allenby atop the leaderboard among those who teed soured in the morning.

"Maybe hunting at every the big manducate trees around the sport instruction makes this see same we're at home," Senden said.

No digit feels more at bag than Couples, though there were times he wishes he could impact been somewhere else. His backwards has been performing up, and it started to intend to him toward the modify of his round.

"It's the shorter clubs that blackball me," Couples said. "But at the modify of the day, I played 18 holes and had a enthusiastic round."

He then mentioned an tomography he has planned for Monday, followed by a communication that he did not poverty to discuss. And he mitt lowercase room to guess what it might be, locution that it was a "couple lowercase things that haw happen," then describing it as "pretty drastic" and that "it'll be fun for me to do it."

That was most as cushy to decipher as the leaderboard.

Source